Revenue Man reveals 'Top 10 oddest excuses' for late tax returns
- 3 January 2014 08:32256749With the 31 January tax return deadline just around the corner, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has revealed the 'Top 10 oddest excuses' for sending in a late return.
The following bizarre, exotic and flimsy excuses have all been used by tardy taxpayers:
1. My pet goldfish died (self-employed builder);
2. I had a run-in with a cow (Midlands farmer);
3. After seeing a volcanic eruption on the news, I couldn't concentrate on anything else (London woman);
4. My wife won't give me my mail (self-employed trader);
5. My husband told me the deadline was 31 March, and I believed him (Leicester hairdresser);
6. I've been far too busy touring the country with my one-man play (Coventry writer);
7. My bad back means I can't go upstairs. That's where my tax return is (a working taxi driver);
8. I've been cruising round the world in my yacht, and only picking up post when I'm on dry land (South East man);
9. Our business doesn't really do anything (Kent financial services firm); and
10. I've been too busy submitting my clients' tax returns (London accountant).
All of these people and businesses received a £100 penalty from HMRC for filing late. They appealed against the decision using these excuses, but were unsuccessful.
HMRC's Director General of Personal Tax, Ruth Owen, said:
"There will always be unforeseen events that mean a taxpayer could not file their tax return on time. However, your pet goldfish passing away isn't one of them."
So there you are.email: dover7@msn.com - 3 January 2014 08:44256751
I once felt the wincing pain of that £100 fine.
To avoid it I did a bit of over-the-top grovelling and offered some colourful reasons but I was met with the proverbial HMRC deaf ear...
my excuse went as follows.
"I was walking along the seafront heading to my accountants when a gust of wind came along and blew all my cheque stubs into the sea. The cheque stubs were promptly eaten by a shoal of darting avaricious mackeral just up from those balmy waters of further south. Needless to say I was horrified and was thinking of plunging into the sea to give chase to the mackeral when a passing fisherman pointed out the pointlessness of that idea. A while later the mackeral all floated to the surface looking decidedly ill...clearly the figures on the cheque stubs were indigestible !!
So as you can see it wasnt my fault"
I cant think why they didnt buy that one as it was the gospel truth...so it was
email: dover7@msn.com - 3 January 2014 08:54256752I remember one they published a few years ago: 'I took too much Viagra and couldn't leave the house to go to the post office'.I'm an optimist. But I'm an optimist who takes my raincoat - Harold Wilson
- Terry Nunn
- Location: London Road, Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 4,316
3 January 2014 09:09256755And the lady charged with speeding. She said she was trying to get to the filling station before the petrol ran out.
TerryQuis custodiet ipsos custodes?